February 25, 2009

Horses, Cars and Teddy Bears, Oh My!

The SEC today obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of two New York fund managers who allegedly used money from investors to buy horses, cars, and rare, collectible teddy bears. That’s right—teddy bears from this luxury toy company.

Paul Greenwood and Stephen Walsh, through their three companies, have allegedly operated a fraudulent investment scheme since at least 1996 that has bilked investors out of as much as $554 million. According to the SEC complaint, filed in federal court in Manhattan, Greenwood and Walsh solicited and defrauded institutional investors, including schools, and public pension and retirement plans.

The SEC also froze the assets of their companies, WG Trading Investors, WG Trading Company, and Westridge Capital Management.